Conveyer system



July 29, 1952 H. E. STEINHOFF CONVEYER SYSTEM Filed July 22, 1948 MW QWINVENTOR.

Patented July 29, 1952 CONVEYER SYSTEM Harvey E. Steinhofi', Decatur,111., assignor to Wagner Malleable Iron Company, Decatur, 111., acorporation of Illinois Application July 22, 1948, Serial No. 40,140

6 Claims. l

My invention relates to a continuous conveyor system consisting of anoverhead track or rail provided with a plurality of trolley membersadapted to travel throughout the length of the rail or track by means ofan endless chain, cable or other suitable element having operativeconnections with the trolley members, in conjunction with materialholding trays, buckets or containers which are pendently suspended fromthe trolleys by means which permit a degree of lag in the containertravel while passing through what may be termed the loading zones andcause the containers to be grouped closely together at predeterminedintervals while passing through the loading zones.

The invention has for its object the provision of carriers, trays, orbuckets, having rigidly held bails of particular formation and dependinglinks pivotally secured. to overhead trolleys, whereby the carriers willhave a controlled amount of lag during their travel through theprearranged loading zones while the pull cable or chain continues totravel at its fixed rate of speed; the carrier holding linksautomatically returning to their normal position while the carriers willbe pendently held in upright position.

The aforementioned objects and advantages, as well as other advantagesinherent in the invention, will be readily comprehended from thedetailed description of the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a section of my improved conveyor systemillustrating a number of the improved carriers approaching and passinginto what may be termed a loading zone.

Figure 2 is a similar side elevation and a continuation of the section,to illustrate the rail or track and certain carriers passing, out of thezone shown in Figure l with the track or rail extending beyond one ofits dips or declinations and returned to the normal plane.

The present application covers a species of the invention, genericfeatures of which are disclosed in my copending application Serial No.40,139, filed July 22, 194.8.

In the specific exemplification, the system comprises an overhead trackor rail. it, preferably of I-beam cross section arranged to extend in apredetermined plane except at preselected localities, known as loadingzones, wherethe track or rail is provided with a declination or dip asshown at H extending a prearranged distance commensurate with the natureor size of the carriers and the desired number of carriers to be loaded.

The track or top rail I'll is provided with a prearranged number oftrolleys l2 consisting of a clevis type of yoke provided with. rollersi3 adapted to ride the lower flange and on opposite sides of the web ofthe rail; while the lower end of the yoke is provided with an integralshank l4 which is adapted to pass through a link of a pull chain I5, orbe immovably secured to a pull cable, thus arranging the chain 15beneath the overhead rail H]. The chain 15 is intended to be constantlyheld tautv throughout the system and thus maintain the trolleys at theirpredetermined and uniform spaced relation.

A link [6 is pivotally connected to the lower end of eachdependingyoke-shank Hi beneath the chain and arranged'to swing in. adirection longitudinally of the rail and chain. The lower end of eachlink 15 preferably is provided with a spool or grooved sheave I"! forpendently supporting a material carrier therefrom; the spool or sheavebeing rotatably secured to the lower end of the pivoted link.

An acceptable'type of carrier in the form of a rectangular fiat bottomedframe or holder is shown at l8 and each is shown provided with asuitable trayor material holding container 553 loosely set thereon.

The ends. of the carriers-are provided with inverted U-shaped bails 20whose ends are rigidly secured to the carrier frames and the upwardlydisposed intermediate portions of the. bails are bent into an invertedobtuse. v-shape formation as shown at 2|, 2!, with the juncture betweenthe portions 2|, 2| given an arcuate formation and spool or sheaveseating valley as at 22.

The degree of slope of sides 2t, 2! of the bail preferably correspondsto. or exceeds the degree of dip or declination in the. overheadsupporting rail or track of the system in order to readily permitrelative movement between the carriers [8 and the. suspending links.

At locations coincident with the dips. or declinations in the overheadrail. Ill, that is to say at points intended to constitute the loadingzones, I provide tables; or platforms preferably provided with suitabletransversely disposed rollers, as for example at 2.3. The table or.platform tops are arranged in the horizontal plane of the bottoms of thecarrier frames it during their normal travel in advance of the zones,with the result that when the trolleys enter and pass to the bottom ofthe dip or declination H in the overhead rail or track [-0, the distancebetween the rail l0 and the carriers l8 decreases, causing the spools H.at thebottom ends of the links to ride toward the forward end of thebail-loop, as

shown at the third carrier from the right in Figure 1; it beingunderstood that the conveyor is traveling in the direction of the arrow.

As the carrier engages the platform top, the suspended weight on thelink [6 is taken by the platform thereby producing a yieldable or lostmotion relation between link-spool or sheave IT and the bail, allowingthe carrier to lag in its travel while the pull cable or chain remainstaut and continues at its fixed speed and maintains the fixed spacedrelation between the trolleys. The lag in the container or carrier isobtained by the spool or sheave ll riding along the declining portion ofthe bail until it reaches the vertical leg of the bail as shown at thethird carrier 18 from the right in Figure l; and when the spool orsheave l'l engages the forward vertical portion of the bail the spool orsheave carrying link It will swing rearwardly about its pivot as shownat the left hand carrier in Figure land thus cause the carriers orreceptacles to group closely together at predetermined spacing whilepassing through the loading zone.

After the carrier has passed through the lowest point of the rail dipand the trolley begins traveling up the inclined portion of the dip asshown at the right hand end of Figure 2, the spool of the link begins totravel toward the apex of the bail, see the second carrier in Figure 2;the spool carrying link assuming its normal vertical position as shownin the carrier at the left in Figure 2 when traveling the horizontalportion of the overhead rail.

The receptacles at their ends preferably are each provided with aprons24 and 25. These aprons may be formed integral with the sides or ends ofthe receptacle or tray walls and arranged to slope upwardly outward; theaprons 2Q preferably at their tops terminating in rearwardly extendingends adapted to overlap the apron 25 at the forward ends of thesucceeding receptacles or trays when the receptacles pass through theloading zones where the receptacles during their lag in travel come intocloser relation as shown in the drawing, thus maintaining a spacedrelation between the receptacles and preventing spillin or dropping ofmaterial between the succeeding receptacles or trays.

The exemplification of the invention shown and described is believed tobe a simple embodiment of the invention but certain modifications ofconstruction are possible and may be made without, however, departingfrom the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a conveyor system, the combination of an overhead track or railprovided at predetermined zones along its length with declinationsordips; a plurality of uniformly spaced trolleys arranged on said rail; acontinuously traveling taut endless element operatively connected withsaid trolleys whereby said trolleys are maintained in fixed spacedrelation and caused to travel on said rail; a rigid link pivotallyconnected to each trolley adjacent said endless element so as to swingin a direction lengthwise of said element and the lower end of the linkhaving a laterally disposed spool or roller; a plurality of carriers,each provided with an inverted U-shaped bail whose ends are rigidlysecured to opposite ends of the carrier in an upright position, theintermediate portion of the bail above the carrier being formed withinclining sides extending from the vertical legs of the bail to thecenter, said angularly arranged intermediate portion being adapted toreceive the link spool or roller for pendently supporting the carrier;and a series of fixed platforms disposed in the normal horizontal planeof the carrier-bottoms to support the carriers during travelrespectively through the dips or rail declinations of said track andthereby to permit the link-spools to ride down the inclined portions ofthe carrier bails and to swing reversely to the direction of carriertravel to provide a predetermined degree of lag in carrier travelthrough said zones.

2. In a conveyor system, the combination of a track rail; a plurality ofuniformly spaced trolleys arranged on the rail and provided withdepending portions; a continuously traveling taut end less elementconnected with the trolleys to maintain the spaced relation between thelatter and cause them to move therewith; a plurality of carriers, eachprovided with a bail of inverted U-shape whose vertical sides arerigidly secured to opposite ends of a carrier so as to extendthereabove, the upper intermediate portion of the bail sloping upwardlyinward toward each other into inverted V-shape formation; a rigid linkfor each carrier, pivotally connected at the upper end to the dependingportion of the respective trolley, beneath the point of attachmentbetween the depending portion and said endless element so as to permitthe link to swing in a direction lengthwise of the direction of travel,the lower end of the link havin a laterally disposed portion adapted toengage beneath the upper V-shaped part of the bail to pendently supportthe carrier and to have sliding engagement with the bail at preselectedzones during the carrier travel along said rail; and a carriersupporting platform disposed throughout each of said zones wherebytension on said links is relieved and the latter are permitted to ridethe downwardly sloping portion of the carrier-bail so as to permit thecarrier to lag in its travel through said zones without retarding thespeed of the continuously moving endless element, thereby causing thecarriers to group closely together at predetermined intervals whilepassing through each of said zones.

3. In a conveyor system, the combination of an overhead rail; aplurality of trolleys arranged to ride on the rail; a continuouslytraveling taut pull element connected with each trolley to maintainpredetermined spaced relation between the trolleys; a plurality ofcarriers pendently supported from the respective trolleys by yieldablemeans having shifting lost motion contact with the carrier so as topermit the said means to shift toward the forward side of the carrier;carrier supporting platforms at preselected locations in the system,said rail having a depressed section over each platform, whereby thevertical distance between the carriers and the trolleys is decreased assaid trolleys move across each platform to permit the carriers to lag intheir travel through said locations without interrupting the normalspeed of the pull element.

4. In a conveyor system provided along its length with spaced zones, thecombination of an overhead rail; a plurality of trolleys arranged totravel along said rail and each having a depending shank or stem; acontinuously traveling taut pull element connected with the shanks orstems of the trolleys to maintain a prearranged spaced relation betweenthe trolleys and cause the latter to move therewith; a plurality ofcarriers adapted to be pendently suspended respectively from thetrolleys through the medium of rigid links pivotally secured at theirupper ends to the depending shanks or stems of the trolleys while theirlower ends have sliding lost motion connection with the carrier;platforms arranged respectively at said zones for supporting thecarriers during their travel through said zones, said rail and eachplatform being spaced substantially less than the normal distancerequired to support said carriers in suspension, whereby the verticaldistance between the trolleys and the carriers is decreased to permitsaid links to swing about their pivot points and to shift their slidingconnection with the carriers so that the latter are permitted to lag andbecome closely grouped in their travel through said zones withoutretarding the speed of travel of the pull element.

5. In a conveyor system provided with spaced zones, the combination ofan overhead rigid rail; a plurality of trolleys arranged to travel alongsaid rail; a continuously traveling taut pull element connected with thetrolleys to maintain the latter in predetermined spaced relation andcause them to travel along the rail; a plurality of carriers pendentlysupported from the trolleys by shiftable lost motion connections adaptedto permit the carriers at prearranged periods to lag and become closelygrouped in their travel without retarding the speed of travel of thepull element; and platforms disposed respectively at said zones arrangedto have the carriers ride thereon, said rail and each platform beingspaced vertically less than the normal distance required to support saidcarrier in suspension, whereby said connections are permitted to shiftduring the carriers travel along each platform, with anti-frictionsurfaces 6. In'a conveyor system, in combination, an

overhead generally horizontal rail, a plurality of trolleys arranged totravel in succession along said rail, drive means for advancing saidtrolleys along said rail while maintaining them in substantiallyuniformly spaced relation, a plurality of suspension elements dependingrespectively from said trolleys and movable therewith, a plurality ofcarriers normally supported respectively by said suspension elements.and means independent of said suspension elements for supporting saidcarriers during movement along a predetermined portion of said rail at adistance from said rail less than when supported by said suspensionelements, each suspension element providing a lost motion relationshipbetween said suspension element and an associated carrier permittingsaid carrier to lag when supported by said last mentioned means, wherebycontiguous carriers are grouped relatively closely together in theirmovement along said rail portion.

HARVEY E. S'I'EINHOFF.

REFERENCE S CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 801,523 Hinchman Oct. 10, 19051,507,888 McBride Sept. 9, 1924 2,141,125 Braune Dec.20, 1938 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 689,952 France wt-m." S pt 1 1.930

